The St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC), the sole electric power company on the beautiful island of St. Kitts, owns and operates the twin islands' second largest solar photovoltaic (PV) farm. The plant, rated at approximate 0.5 megawatts (MW), is located on roughly 100m by 183m of land on the outskirts of the capital city, Basseterre… Continue reading REdiscover: SKELEC’s First Solar PV Farm (St. Kitts)
The Barbados Light & Power (PL&P) 10 MW solar PV farm in Trents, St. Lucy is the Island's first utility-scale solar project. In 2014, the light and power company invited proposals for a solar photovoltaic system of up to 8 megawatts (MW) on an engineering, procurement and construction turnkey basis, for which over 40 bids… Continue reading Barbados’ First Utility-Scale Solar PV Farm
Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), has set an ambitious renewable energy (RE) target of 10% of installed capacity by 2021. This equates to approximately 200 MW given the combined installed capacity of the two islands is over 2000 MW of natural gas based power generation. T&T is the only nation in the western hemisphere, and the second in the world, that generates 100%… Continue reading Weighing in on T&T’s 10% RE Target
The Jamaican electricity sector has seen its fair share of investment in renewable energy over the last two decades or so, to the tune of approximately US$360 million to be exact. Development to date: Jamaica has a long history of using its indigenous renewable sources of energy to generate electricity. This dates back as far as… Continue reading Jamaica’s RE Near Term Outlook
In 2013, WBR Enterprises Inc. was selected by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) via a competitive bidding process to develop a 20 Megawatts (MW) solar farm - the island's first utility-scale solar project. The project was the third lowest bid received, in response to the OUR's request to supply 115 MW of renewable generation, with a proposed price… Continue reading Jamaica’s First Utility-Scale Solar PV Farm
The Islands of the Caribbean are known to have some of the highest electricity rates in the world, with the exception of only a few. This is primarily because more than 95 percent of their energy consumption is derived from imported petroleum products. The U.S. Department of Energy and its partners, through the Energy Transition… Continue reading Island Energy Snapshots – the Caribbean
Recently, two new wind farms (Wigton III and BMR) were commissioned onto the Jamaican electricity grid with a combined capacity of 60 megawatts (MW). This pushes the paradise Island beyond the 100 MW mark, now having total installed capacity of 102 MW. The Wigton III Wind FarmWigton III is a 24 MW wind farm owned and operated… Continue reading Jamaica Surpasses 100 MW of Wind Power
The Wind Turbine is Renewable Energy biggest fan and I am a fan of wind turbines! Now since we are on the topic of fans, I decided to share with you the answer to a burning question I had some time ago regarding wind turbines. My mind boggling question was, "why don't the turbines behave like a… Continue reading Wind Turbines – I’m a Big Fan!
Jamaica is currently leading the English speaking Caribbean in the use of renewable energy (RE) at the commercial level and will probably continue to do so for some time to come. This statement is based in one part on its current installed capacity of 72 Megawatts (MW) and the other on the 78 MW that… Continue reading Companies go Head to Head to Supply RE in Jamaica
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in a ninety four (94) page publication titled "REthink Energy towards a new power system" articulated the point that policies that promote renewable energy can simultaneously address economic, social and environmental objectives. I too share this sentiment. As global warming becomes more apparent, policymakers in the developed world have… Continue reading Can Renewables Address the Economic, Social and Environmental Goals in the Caribbean?
